Reports: Davis out

February 16, 2006|DOUG WILSON Bloomington H-T

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- After Wednesday night's loss at Penn State, Mike Davis refused to answer questions about whether he has resigned. Midway through the second half of the 71-68 loss, Sports Illustrated.com posted a story on its Web site saying Davis has resigned. The story cited an unidentified source in the IU athletic department saying Davis informed IU officials more than a week ago of his decision to resign, effective at the end of the season. The report said Davis has reached a contract settlement with the university and will continue to coach through the end of the season. It said an announcement of his resignation could come as soon as today. At Wednesday's post-game press conference, a reporter told Davis there was a report out that he had worked out a deal to resign. Davis said he had just heard of the report when doing his post-game radio interview with Don Fischer, but was not going to discuss it. "I'm not going to answer anything about my job," Davis said. "I've said that today. I've said that the other day. I'm not commenting on anything but the game tonight and the game next week." IU Associate Athletic Director Tim Fitzpatrick was at the game and said he had no knowledge of Davis resigning last week or of a contract settlement with IU. "I don't know anything at all regarding that," Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick said he had last talked with IU Athletic Director Rick Greenspan -- who did not attend the game -- just before the game, and Greenspan didn't say anything about Davis resigning. Late Wednesday night, Mike DeCourcy of the Sporting News.com, also reported that Davis will resign his position at the end of the season. DeCourcy cited an anonymous source "close to the IU basketball program" saying Davis planned to "I just think Indiana needs to have one of their own, to have someone that has played here so they can embrace him," he said. "They need that. I'm not upset about it. I'm not disappointed about it. I think they need that. I really do, because these players deserve better." Davis, 109-75 at IU, said questions of whether he'd be back to coach next year have dogged him all six years at IU. This season, he said those questions have made it hard for even his best players, such as Marco Killingsworth and Robert Vaden, to perform. "When it starts affecting your better players, it doesn't make sense," he said. "If we're in last place, you have a complaint. "We've been one game out of this thing for the last couple of weeks, we had a home streak going and you could just see it on their faces. You could see it -- it's not the same team. We lost one game, two games on the road, and it was like it was the end of the season. If you think about that, it doesn't make sense." Davis compared his team to a family that's learned its father may lose his job because his company is downsizing. He said the family members are all affected by such news. "And so our players have definitely been affected by it," he said. "And I've read a lot of things said about other coaches, but never have you walked into another arena and feel what our guys have to feel and go through. "It's been a tough thing for six years. The ones who are affected most by it are the players. They really care about the coach and want to do well for the coach. It's going to affect them." Davis was asked if high expectations at IU are the reason fans have been critical of him. He said he didn't think so because he believes his team is doing about as well as it did in the decade before he became head coach. He pointed out that before his team tied for a Big Ten title in 2002, IU's last conference championship was in 1993. "So expectations definitely aren't it because we're only one game out of first place," Davis said. "We're one game out of first. "Every team we play on the road -- Michigan State, they were desperate, but not one time did we feel like their fans weren't supporting their players. Minnesota was 0-6. Not one possession did I feel like they weren't into the game for their team. "So this expectation thing, when you're one game out of first place, and ranked in the country, it doesn't add up to me. If it makes sense to anyone else in the country, then I hope they can explain it to me."To reach Doug Wilson: dwilson@heraldt.com tell his players about his resignation Wednesday night after the game and announce his decision at a news conference today. IU junior Rod Wilmont said after the game that Davis hadn't told the team anything about resigning. Wilmont made the remarks just before getting on a team bus to the airport, where the team would again be together with Davis on the way back to Bloomington. "I don't know what's going on," Wilmont said. "I'm here to play. I see stuff on TV, but everybody sees that. My mom sees that. You know as much as I do." Davis was asked if refusing to comment wouldn't just fan the flames of speculation that he actually had resigned. "If I say something, I'll say the wrong thing," Davis responded. "Trust me, I've been on TV the last three days and I need to just keep my mouth quiet and focus on our basketball team." IU junior Errek Suhr was asked if Davis had said anything about resigning to the team, and responded that he had no comment. During the Big Ten weekly coaches' teleconference Monday, Davis was asked why IU fans are so demanding of their coach. He responded that IU needs is one of its own, a coach who played at IU, so fans will embrace him. On Tuesday, Davis was asked if had resigned and seemed to indicate he had not, but on further review, may have left himself some wiggle room with his wording. "I'm not quitting," Davis told Sporting News Radio. "I'm going to coach the remainder of the season. We're right there at making the tournament; we're right there. Now someone has to lose for us to have a chance to win the conference championship, but everything is right there." After missing the Iowa game Saturday with a flu-like illness, Davis did not return calls from The Herald-Times Saturday evening and Sunday. An e-mail Monday to Greenspan, who was at a meeting in Florida, also was not answered.